Sofa Art XVI
Sofa Art Tours the Golden State

Sofa Art returns in its sixteenth annual exhibition at Arts Visalia February 2nd through February 25th. This year, Sofa Tours the Golden State, and artists and non-artists alike will share all their fun-loving creativity in this tongue and cheek community art event. An opening reception will be held Friday, February 5th from 6 to 8pm. Attendance is free and open to the public.

The first Sofa Art Show was held in 1996 as a playful response to an unflattering depiction of Visalia’s local art scene as described by a local newspaper writer. Sofa Art Co-Founder Varian Mace, then an art instructor at College of the Sequoias, shared the article with her classes and challenged them to make some “real sofa art” in response. The resulting exhibition was a hit, to say the least, and has been an annual Visalia tradition ever since.

Once again this year, in conjunction with the main Sofa Art exhibition, Arts Visalia and many partnering organizations of the Visalia Arts Consortium will run the Sofa Art Trolley Tour on Saturday, February 12th. Stops will be made at satellite venues in the downtown area where family-friendly activities and refreshments can be enjoyed by trolley riders.

All artists, and, again, non-artists, are invited to submit their creations. Entry forms may be picked up at Arts Visalia or online at www.artsvisalia.org. Artwork submissions must be delivered to Arts Visalia by Saturday, January 29th. A dedicated artwork delivery session is scheduled for Saturday, January 29th from Noon to 3pm.